Related Links

Flagler pier restaurant headed for new lease on operations

Published: Friday, March 4, 2011 at 5:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 15, 2012 at 12:13 p.m.

FLAGLER BEACH -- The city's pier will likely have a new resident shortly, a week after the commission and a local businessman thought they had reached an impasse on him leasing its restaurant.

Raymond Barshay seems poised to take over the pier restaurant, a deal that's been more than a year in the making. Barshay and the city came to terms Thursday night on several contentious issues, including the rent and responsibility for the adjacent bait and tackle shop during a workshop session.

Barshay and the city still needed to iron out a few minor details at the end of the workshop, but the major issues are apparently resolved. No lease has been signed.

Barshay owns several restaurants in the Daytona Beach area, including River Grille on the Tomoka River in Ormond Beach. Current owner Katalin Meyer's lease doesn't expire until 2012, but Barshay is hoping to take over the restaurant before that time.

According to terms of the proposed lease, he will pay $36,000 for each of the first two years of his lease, then 3 percent more per year in subsequent years. The initial term of his lease will be 10 years, with the option to renew for five years up to three times. Barshay also will pay a portion of his gross sales exceeding $1 million.

He also will spend $350,000 on improvements to the outdated restaurant facility. The city, meanwhile, has agreed to pay as much as $50,000 to build a deck attached to the restaurant, if the city can obtain the proper permits.

Barshay won't be immediately responsible for the adjacent bait and tackle shop. Instead, he will serve in an advisory role during the first year of his lease, then split the costs of running it with the city.

The city is now running the bait shop, but not too well, acting City Manager Bruce Campbell said. He thinks pier admission sales are down because people aren't able to rent fishing poles or purchase the bait they want.

"I personally believe the reason sales are down is because of the disarray in that bait shop," Campbell said. "I think it's important for us. That is the icon of our city."

Barshay runs the bait and tackle shop along with the restaurant at the Sunglow Fishing Pier in Daytona Beach Shores, a few blocks south of Dunlawton Avenue.

Vice Chair Ron Vath and Commissioner Steve Settle said they didn't support the bait shop arrangement, but the other three commissioner said it was acceptable. The commission also considered leasing that space out to another proprietor.

Barshay will have a greater interest in the bait shop doing well than others and that arrangement would eliminate conflict about what the bait shop operators could sell, Commissioner Joy McGrew said.

But if the bait shop fails to turn a profit, both parties should reconsider how that store is run, Barshay said.

"If it's a losing operation for everybody, we really need to sit down, look each other in the eye and decide it doesn't work," he said.

-----

All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.